Automatic rein-holder



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' P. W. NELSON.

Automatic Rein Holder.

Ne. 233,110 Patented oef. 12,1880.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICEo PETER W. NELSON, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC REIN-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,110, dated October12, 1880.

, Application led August "l, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER W. NELSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticRein-Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable' othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters orIigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ot' thisspecification. 1

My invention is intended to be applied to the sides of wagon-boxes andother vehicles of every description, and has for its object a more readyand convenient mode of enabling teamsters and others to dispose of thereins of their horses when desiring to stop wagons, &c.; and it consistsin the construction and novel arrangement ot the various partsthereofwhich .will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation, partlybroken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line y y, Fig. l, and Fig.3 is a transverse section on line a: fr, Fig. '1.

A and A represent two parallel jaws having teeth a a' formed on theirupper ends, one ofwhich, A, is movable and made slightly couveX, and theother jaw, A', is made concave and is stationary, both being pivotedtogether in such amanner that they iit snugly against each other whenallowed to spring together for the purpose of more iirnily retaining thereins in their grasp and preventing them from slipping. This jaw A' hasalso two curved or peculiarly-constructed side pieces or plates, B

, B, between which the jaw A articulates or moves by means of a pivot,b, which connects the jaws together.

G is a spiral spring, which rests upon lugs D D, formed upon the insideof the jaws A and A', one end of the spring O, which surrounds and restsupon the lug D in the movable jaw A, itting in a circular recess, d, inthe same, the other end resting on the lug D upon the stationary jaw A'on the inside thereof. The lower end of jaw A serves as a handle, E, foropening and closing the jaws when desired.

Operation: It will thus be obvious that when the teamster or driverdesires to stop his team from time to time, as occasion may require, allthat will be necessary for him to do is to press upon the lower portionor handle, E, ot' the lnovablejaw A and open the same, and then slip hisreins in between said jaws, and when he releases his hand the pressureof the spring, acting upon the aforesaid jaws, closes them upon thereins and holds them tightly in their grasp, and when he wants torelease the reins the same operation is repeated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

The concave and convex serrated or toothed jaws A and A', the latterprovided with the side plates, B B, and spring C, lugs D D, and circularrecess d, constructed, combined, and arranged as lherein described, andfor the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature iu presence of two witnesses.

PETER WINDQUEST NELSON.

Witnesses:

GUsTAE SwENssoN, HENRY T. CoLsoN.

